For most home renters, rent checks are the biggest expense of a monthly budget, and you probably think of it as a fixed cost – a set rate that doesn’t seem at all flexible. Sure, you might have had a chance to get a discount beforeyou signed the lease, but once you’re there, you simply write the check out each month and forget about it.

For household costs like groceries and utilities, if you’re frugal, you’ll keep looking for ways to cut back. For rent, however, most people assume that the only way to lower the cost is to move to a cheaper place.

Don’t fall into that trap. Believe it or not, you can save money on rent where you’re currently living.

I lived in my last apartment for a little over four years. It was a one-bedroom, and when I first moved in, my monthly rent was $395. When I moved out four years later, guess what my monthly rent was: Still $395. They never once raised it.

At first, I thought it was simply by omission. I would hear that rent was going up, but I just continued to send my same $395 in, and they never said anything. After a few years, this property manager finally called me to alert me of a rent increase. But with just a little bit of sweet talk on the phone, I managed to get out of it completely. Consider these six ways to save money on rent without moving.

Ways to Save on Rent without Moving

1. Negotiate
Landlords have it tough too. Collecting isn’t easy, and landlords would rather have you pay a lower rent than default on the entire lease. Chasing late payments costs landlords and property managers a lot of money, even if they force you to cover their legal bills in the end.

Talk to your landlord. Remember that turnover is a huge expense for them, so a little give and take can go a long way. Explain your situation and suggest a lower rent for the remainder of the lease period, or ask to get something else free, like parking....